Fishing in Khairy Jamaluddin’s pond

I have to admit. I went off on a fishing trip last week. After putting on my bait and securing the pole to the ground I left the pond.

We used to do this in the streams, back in the 70s, when we were little, me and my cousins, on those occasions when I visited them in Kelantan. The locals call it “menauk”, for the act we were doing was to “menahan tauk”. Often, we would set several “tauks” before indulging ourselves in a good swim somewhere downstream, away from the location where we secured our fishing poles. We would then come back in one hour or so to see if any fish had taken the bait. Sometimes we even went straight home after our swim, completely forgetting about our “tauks”. We would then come back the following day, to find fish dangling at the end of our poles. Oh, those were the days, when ignorance was bliss!

This time though, I went fishing not in a real stream, but in a virtual pond called Out of the Cage. Of course, most of you know that’s the name for Khairy Jamaluddin’s blog. The topic of interest was his reply, dated May 18, (Response to the Malaysian Insider) to a Malaysian Insider posting on the Perak political conundrum (Najib and Khairy’s unconvincing Perak script). My bait was a comment I made to his reply.

(Note that the author of  the original Malaysian Insider article has since rebutted Khairy’s reply, as a matter of fact. See Comparing apples with oranges.)

This time, I left the bait having completely forgotten that I have set one. Lo and behold, today, a friend highlighted that “someone” commented on my comment to KJ. What a pleasant surprise, indeed! Here is the reproduction of my comments to KJ and the comments on my comments, by “someone” by the name of Shay Fah Dah Pet. Mine are numbered and Shay Fay Deh Pet’s are those preceded with “>>”.

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“onthestreets,

You said:

1. The principle of democracy is that the people vote for a candidate who represents a party. So, it’s fair to say that most voters vote based on what they perceive as the party’s ideology and its stands on issues. How else would you describe during GE12, the Malays voting for DAP candidates and the Chinese and Indians voting for PAS candidates?

>> When you start with “the principle of democracy….” I knew you were a joke lah. Tell me where does it say in debate about democracy that it is founded upon the idea that the citizenry votes for the party and its ideology, not for the candidate? If you are going to premise your argument on ‘the principle of democracy’, you had better get it right and not make a fool of yourself.

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2) If a representative switches party after being voted in by the people, would this not violate the trusts placed upon him/her by the people? Would this not violate the principle in (1)?

>>> umm..no, because your ‘principle’ is not one at all. But for the sake of argument, are you then prepared to say that Sept 16 project was plain wrong?

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3) Granted, elected representatives the world over will continue to switch parties now and again. But, if the switch is surrounded with dubious conditions and circumstances (like threats of corruption charges or enticements of material gains), would that not make a mockery of the election process and democracy as a whole?

>>> Aik. First you say langgar prinsip. Now you imply that if it wasn’t surrounded by ‘dubious conditions’ it wouldnt ‘make a mockery of democracy’? Mana ni….make up your mind mate. Tak pernah pergi debate class ka?

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3) Then again, who am I writing to. I guess it’s true when people say politicians don’t live on principles. No wonder the masses do not have high regards for politicians, especially those from UMNO or BN, regardless of the level of education they have attained.

>>> You are writing in a blog of a person with whom you wouldn’t have the slightest chance of holding your own in a debate, whether about moral principles or about the notion that Gardenia is better than High 5.”

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Initially, I was reluctant to get into an academic discourse with someone who is bent on winning a rhetorical argument. After all, that is not my blog, Onthestreets, is about. I was contented with the fact that my “tauk” had caught a fish. Big or small doesn’t matter. Neither does a smart fish or a stupid fish. Besides, I’d rather spend my time on something productive. “Menang sorak, kampong tergadai” is definitely not one of my Credos. But on the insistence of some close friends and regular readers of Onthestreets for me to put some sense into the nonsensical, I relented. So, here goes my not-so-clever argument toward Shay Fah Dah Pet.

Dear Shay Fah Dah Pet,

First, let me commend you for choosing such name. What a lovely name! You must be proud of yourself.

Before I proceed, let me take a wild guess. From your comments on my comments, I can venture that you are either (1) an ex-girl friend of KJ’s, (2) KJ’s secret admirer, (3) a beneficiary of KJ’s (in Malay, “orang yang tumpang semangkok”; in English, “one of those who is clinging to KJ’s coat tail), (4) KJ’s wife, or (5) KJ himself. Have your pick.

Based on your comments, I gathered that what I wrote must have hit it where it hurts, especially for a person with huge aspiration (some call it “ego”) to be the prime leader of the nation. I like that. That was why I posted my comments in KJ’s blog!

On your rhetoric of democracy, again, I do not wish to engage you in an academic discussion. You may have just graduated from college and now eager to regurgitate what you learned from your political science textbooks. You could be a political science professor, for all I care. Joke or no joke, words on the streets say, the Perak voters were screwed by the three defecting PKR representatives and they are the least happy with it. The voters are looking for someone’s scalp as revenge, and guess what, it’s going to be UMNO’s and BN’s scalps they are after come the next election. This is one instance when the street-smart outlives the PhD holder.

You see, Shay Fah Dah Pet, it’s people like you who contribute immensely toward the downfall of UMNO and BN.  While people like me and others highlight weaknesses in the UMNO-BN system so that they are aware of their mistakes, you keep telling UMNO-BN that they are doing fine. Remember the Malay fable, “Si Luncai dengan Labu-labunya”?

Now, let’s get to your “hero-worshiping” of KJ as a leader. I think it is high time someone puts some sense into it.

Let’s just assume he is really a great leader, as people like you would swear with your own life. Can someone please help me with these questions:

1)      Being an aspirant to the top national-level leadership, what has Khairy Jamaluddin done to Malaysians in general in terms of improving their lives, with regards to safety, education, and the overall feeling of being proud to be Malaysian? Our crime rates are ever increasing. Our education system appears to be regressing. We keep producing more and more straight A’s students, but overall, they lack social and living skills. And the general feeling amongst the public is that Malaysia is now well known in the world for all the wrong reasons.

2)      Being an active member of Pemuda UMNO, and now its head, what has Khairy Jamaluddin done to improve the standings of his own Bangsa as a whole, in terms of their social standings, educational achievements, and economic well-being. The perennial Dadah addicts issue is forever spearheaded by the Malays. Same thing with the Mat Rempit menace. What about “isu-isu membuang bayi baru lahir”? Has Khairy Jamaluddin ever talked to the social workers/officers at the various religious departments? Does he know that the average income of the Malay household lags, not only behind, but far behind the Chinese household? Does he know that the rate of school dropouts amongst Malay boys and girls keep increasing year in, year out? I can go on and on. Does your beloved leader know? Does he have the answers? Can he show some signs that he, somehow, can be seen to be doing something?

Alas! I do remember one “big” contribution KJ had done sometime last year. This concerned his role in the Football Association of Malaysia, in their efforts to improve the sorry state of our national soccer team. I think KJ had a hand in bringing Ian Rush to teach our national strikers the finer arts of scoring goals. (Did someone make money in the process? I wonder.) It was touted as one element of a three-pronged strategy to solve the Malaysia soccer woes. Bravo, Khairy! What a brilliant idea. Look where our soccer team is now!

These are all questions for your so-called grand leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, to answer since he’s the one who aspires to become the leader of all. No rhetoric, please. Don’t let anyone fool you, Shay Fah Dah Pet. Remember, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!

Don’t look at me for answers. After all, I’m just a man on the street.